The Rajasthan Royals bowled brilliantly, but on a slow, two-paced Mullanpur pitch, they almost tripped over their lines trying to chase 147. In the end, what appeared to be a simple pursuit reduced to the league leaders needing to get 34 off of 18. Off the penultimate ball, Shimron Hetmyer struck a 10-ball 27* to lead the squad to their fifth victory of the 2024 Indian Premier League. The Punjab Kings’ fourth loss of the season keeps them entrenched in the lower half of the standings.
A match featuring prominent absences
Niggles kept A-listers from both sides out of this competition. Shikhar Dhawan was lost by PBKS, while Liam Livingstone was welcomed back. Opening position became available for Atharva Taide, and Sam Curran became captain. Tanush Kotian and Rovman Powell made their IPL debuts, so Jos Buttler and R. Ashwin were left out in the pink corner. But after Sanju Samson won a crucial toss, the visitors had the benefit of having a target in front of them.
Punjab’s ongoing issues with powerplay
Three of the Punjab Kings’ five lowest powerplay scores in the 2024 Indian Premier League highlight a major weakness in their current campaign. Their skipper and opener Shikhar Dhawan’s absence hindered them much more today. Taide, his XI replacement, got off to a promising start with two well-timed boundaries through the covers. However, as it happened, that was the peak of PBKS’s powerplay. After Taide was dismissed by Avesh Khan, Jonny Bairstow and Prabhsimran Singh found it difficult to move the seamers, and PBKS finished the powerplay at a pitiful 38/1.
Chahal and Maharaj put on a chokehold.
In Mullanpur, spin turned out to be a useful weapon for Sanju Samson, and Yuzvendra Chahal scored in his opening over—the first one following the powerplay. The leggie’s well-known, clumsy delivery enticed the irritable Prabhsimran to try a long slog across the line. The batter took the bait, and because his release shot was being hit against the wind, there was an added element of danger. Dhruv Jurel made his first of three outfield catches by settling beneath the swirler.
It was Keshav Maharaj’s time to score after Chahal. In the opening over, he got a delivery to stop and turned on Bairstow; the Englishman chipped a straightforward catch to extra cover to fall for 15 off 19. Stand-in captain Sam Curran also mistimed a pull to deep mid-wicket during Maharaj’s sparse bowling effort, which resulted in figures of 2 for 23. PBKS was down to 53/4 at the halfway point of the innings, and they needed to extend their batting by bringing on Ashutosh Sharma as an impact replacement.
How did PBKS reach 147 despite this?
The Kings, as usual, looked to their bottom middle-order to find respectability on the scoreboard. Leading the comeback was Jitesh Sharma, who hit a superb inside-out six off Chahal over extra cover and then a six off Kuldeep Sen on the ground. Liam Livingstone, who was back, defeated Sen for 17 runs, hitting two sixes and one four. However, just as their relationship was growing, Jitesh was bowled out by Avesh Khan. It was up to Ashutosh to deliver the game-winning flick throw after Livingstone was run out thanks to an improvised flip from Samson. And he succeeded in doing so. Avesh Khan finished with an amazing 31 off 16 after hitting two sixes in the 19th over and then a four in the last over.
contrasting beginnings for Kotian and Jaiswal
The Royals sent out Tanush Kotian and Yashasvi Jaiswal, two Mumbai players, to start the chase because Buttler was not present. For the first time this season, the Royals went through the powerplay without losing a wicket, albeit they only scored a meager 43 runs during this period. Kotian made just 18 of the 20 balls he encountered during this time, but Jaiswal made 23 with ease in the 16 balls he faced. Livingstone eventually put an end to his troubles after two more overs, sneaking a ball under his legs and clearing him up for a laborious 31-ball 24.
Rabada returns the Kings to glory.
The Royals chase was unaffected by the early go-slow as Jaiswal and Sanju Samson kept them moving, cutting the equation down to a very manageable 66 off 51 before the returning Jaiswal mistimed an uppercut to the third man, which Rabada got. The brilliant opening couldn’t capitalize after reaching 39 off 28, which gave the hosts a window of chance. Samson was then trapped in front of the stumps by Rabada’s quick ball onto his leg. The South African sensation concluded his four overs with figures of 2 for 18, and the pressure he created in his final two overs caused the visitors to crumble.
A pull off Arshdeep was top-edged by the form Riyan Parag, while in the previous over Sam Curran had conceded just six singles. The Royals were left needing 34 off of 18.
The pendulum then swings once again.
Curran passed up the opportunity to bowl the 18th over to Harshal Patel. Hetmyer swung away two soft balls from the Haryana bowler, who had just dismissed Dhruv Jurel, for a four and a six. The 19th over began with a brace of fours from Rovman Powell off Curran. That meant that 18 runs had been lost in four balls at that point. Despite Curran’s valiant return to remove Powell and Maharaj in his final over, Arshdeep had only 10 runs left to defend. The left-armer began with bowling two dots, but after missing his yorker on his third attempt, he gave up a six. Hetmyer handed PBKS another narrow loss by helping himself to another six off a complete toss.
Brief scores: Rajasthan Royals 152/7 in 19.5 overs (Yashasvi Jaiswal 39, Shimron Hetmyer 27*; Kagiso Rabada 2-18, Sam Curran 2-25) defeated Punjab Kings 147/8 in 20 overs (Ashutosh Sharma 31; Keshav Maharaj 2-23, Avesh Khan 2-34) by three wickets.
What are the teams’ next moves?
After a four-day break, Punjab Kings will host Mumbai Indians on April 18 when they are still at home. On April 16, the Royals will head east to take on KKR due to a shorter turnaround.
